Fairfax County is a big system with a lot of very good schools and perhaps a few great ones.

I was the poster who recommended Churchill Road/Longfellow-Cooper/TJ-Langley as the trifecta of "best schools." They are all good schools and they represent the apotheosis of what some parents in Fairfax County seek. Very good schools with programs for the gifted and affluent students. Who could ask for anything more?

We almost moved a few blocks from Churchill Road several years ago. We found a house that we liked there, but decided it was too big for us, and we ended up in a smaller house in another district instead. The assigned schools have been fine - they have their positives and negatives - but I did think it might be better to be in a district that was considered very good, but not the absolute best. My thinking was that some parents who seek out the "best" schools then expect the schools to do all the work. That won't happen at any public school in the area, and from what I've heard Langley has a disproportionate number of parents who show up at school and harangue the administrators whenever their kids get a poor grade or get in any trouble. If you read things that the Langley principal has said to the media over the past few years, you can tell that he walks on egg shells and is constantly striving to strike a balance between demonstrating that he's in charge and placating parents and students who think they ought to call the shots. That's a different environment than you'll find at other schools.

Just something to think about.

DON'T go to greatschools.org ! ! Make your own choice by visiting the school, talking other parents, teachers, principal, attending PTA meetings. Ask about the test scores...ask tougher questions about their response to low scores and what they're doing so classes are creatively taught and not just to the test. Two schools that our children have attended were ranked medicore on the site, but our children excelled with great teachers and made great friends.

Lemon Road GT kids can attend Haycock

In the end, your child's experience at a school is so dependent on the teachers that are assigned to them. And that is something you can't control. I know in our school, certain teachers are considered the "best of the best" and other teachers are excellent, good or fair. One thing to consider that not a lot of people think about is the quality of the art, PE and music programs. The kids will have those teachers and those programs all 6 years. Our school has a lap running program at recess where all the kids starting in first run laps every day and are excited to do it. Maybe other schools have that too, I don't know, but elementary school is so much more than just academics.

Anonymous wrote:There are good schools on the western side as well - Flores, Union Mill, Greenbriar West, Colin Powell.... Don't limit yourself - the school does not have to be an AAP center and does not have to be on the eastern side. As mentioned before, scores are affected by level IV classes on one end and ESL students on the other, but you have to speak to parents to find out what the school is realy like.

It always comes back to high SES status = "good schools"

You KNOW people are always going to say the "best" school is the one with the most families in multi-million dollar homes. Keeps out the "problem" children, the riff-raff.

If you're looking for demographics and scores, please go directly to FCPS's website! All the info is there. There is no need to find that at greatschools!

Anonymous wrote:No, Haycock is 73% white, 20% Asian, 4% Hispanic, 2% Black/non-Hispanic.

Langley HS, 77% White, 18% Asian, 3% Hispanic, 2% Black

Neither is exactly a bastion of minority representation. I am not saying that is bad, just that the schools are working with a very different student composition than many of the other more middle class schools.

Regading the Asian thing, I am actually Asian, and yes, technically we are a minority race in this country. However, we are not an at risk group when it comes to academics. In fact, when applying for university, the Asian applicants must score much higher grades and SATs then their non Asian peers. That is a fact, especially in places like California, or the ivies. Ask your Asian friends for annecdotal tales or just google it. I can't post links from my phone. Asians just are not the same at risk population as other minorities or ESL students, so comapring their test scores to those other groups is like apples to oranges. They test higher than whites as a group. That is why I lumped them together with whites, not as a "minority".

And even if you put the Asian students with the Black and Hispanic groups, 72-77% white is not a diverse student base for this area.

Not sure where you get your statistics. These are the latest ones I've seen, and they have Haycock at @60% white.

http://www.fcps.edu/it/studentreporting/documents/EthnicRpt11.pdf

Some Asian students are more at risk than others.

No, Haycock is 73% white, 20% Asian, 4% Hispanic, 2% Black/non-Hispanic.

Langley HS, 77% White, 18% Asian, 3% Hispanic, 2% Black

Neither is exactly a bastion of minority representation. I am not saying that is bad, just that the schools are working with a very different student composition than many of the other more middle class schools.

Regading the Asian thing, I am actually Asian, and yes, technically we are a minority race in this country. However, we are not an at risk group when it comes to academics. In fact, when applying for university, the Asian applicants must score much higher grades and SATs then their non Asian peers. That is a fact, especially in places like California, or the ivies. Ask your Asian friends for annecdotal tales or just google it. I can't post links from my phone. Asians just are not the same at risk population as other minorities or ESL students, so comapring their test scores to those other groups is like apples to oranges. They test higher than whites as a group. That is why I lumped them together with whites, not as a "minority".

And even if you put the Asian students with the Black and Hispanic groups, 72-77% white is not a diverse student base for this area.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, go to greatschools.org

Skim the parent evaluations. Go to the test scores and student information pages to compare schools. The site breaks them down by subject, grade level and demographics. It shows scores for the past few years so you can identify any patterns.

Yes, all those Langley-Haycock pyramid schools are very good. BUT, if you look at the demographic breakdowns, those schools have virtually no diversity, which is very different from most of the rest of Fairfax County schools. Those schools are in excess of 70% white, 20-something % Asian. There is no significant minority representation at all (less than 5% black and hispanic). Maybe this is important to you, maybe not. Those schools are also very wealthy (no free lunches). All these stats are found on that site.

You can compare those schools to schools with higher diversity and a more middle class student base. Often the test scores are very, very similar to the Langley pyramid schools by demographic group. The difference between the pyramids' scores comes when you have a higher concentration of minority or ESL population in other pyramids skewing the overall scores down

Still, many of these more diverse schools manage to score very high on their tests. This to me is more of an indication of quality instruction and involved parents, if a school serving a higher concentration of at risk kids is able to achieve success rates very close to a school serving a more wealthy, monolythic student body.

Haycock is about 60% white. Langley is over 70% white.

When did Asians stop being minorities?

+1

Anonymous wrote:OP, go to greatschools.org

Skim the parent evaluations. Go to the test scores and student information pages to compare schools. The site breaks them down by subject, grade level and demographics. It shows scores for the past few years so you can identify any patterns.

Yes, all those Langley-Haycock pyramid schools are very good. BUT, if you look at the demographic breakdowns, those schools have virtually no diversity, which is very different from most of the rest of Fairfax County schools. Those schools are in excess of 70% white, 20-something % Asian. There is no significant minority representation at all (less than 5% black and hispanic). Maybe this is important to you, maybe not. Those schools are also very wealthy (no free lunches). All these stats are found on that site.

You can compare those schools to schools with higher diversity and a more middle class student base. Often the test scores are very, very similar to the Langley pyramid schools by demographic group. The difference between the pyramids' scores comes when you have a higher concentration of minority or ESL population in other pyramids skewing the overall scores down

Still, many of these more diverse schools manage to score very high on their tests. This to me is more of an indication of quality instruction and involved parents, if a school serving a higher concentration of at risk kids is able to achieve success rates very close to a school serving a more wealthy, monolythic student body.

Haycock is about 60% white. Langley is over 70% white.

When did Asians stop being minorities?

OP, go to greatschools.org

Skim the parent evaluations. Go to the test scores and student information pages to compare schools. The site breaks them down by subject, grade level and demographics. It shows scores for the past few years so you can identify any patterns.

Yes, all those Langley-Haycock pyramid schools are very good. BUT, if you look at the demographic breakdowns, those schools have virtually no diversity, which is very different from most of the rest of Fairfax County schools. Those schools are in excess of 70% white, 20-something % Asian. There is no significant minority representation at all (less than 5% black and hispanic). Maybe this is important to you, maybe not. Those schools are also very wealthy (no free lunches). All these stats are found on that site.

You can compare those schools to schools with higher diversity and a more middle class student base. Often the test scores are very, very similar to the Langley pyramid schools by demographic group. The difference between the pyramids' scores comes when you have a higher concentration of minority or ESL population in other pyramids skewing the overall scores down

Still, many of these more diverse schools manage to score very high on their tests. This to me is more of an indication of quality instruction and involved parents, if a school serving a higher concentration of at risk kids is able to achieve success rates very close to a school serving a more wealthy, monolythic student body.

Anonymous wrote:Churchill is pretty darn good - much more accessible than many. And you cannot beat the statistics of Churchill - Longfellow grads who end up at TJ, or like the PP said, at the "fall back" of Langley. (which is about to be redone at which point it will rock McLean on academics and facilities).

Langley is years away from renovation. The funding hasn't even been secured yet.

But it does have an enormous parking lot.